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Taking firearm on road trip: WA to CO

I'll be on a road trip from Washington State through Idaho, Utah and into Colorado. I may hit Wyoming and Montana as well. I found a map that indicates Idaho, Utah and Montana will reciprocate my CCW issued through Washington State. Colorado and Wyoming will not.

I'll be camping in Colorado and perhaps any/all of the other states and would like to bring my Glock 17 and Bushmaster .223 for recreational shooting and/or protection. I'll be driving a truck without a lockable trunk and was wondering if merely keeping the firearms unloaded and packed away keeps me legal in the reciprocating states but have no idea what to do in the states that do not. I may bring a trailer for my motorcycles as opposed to loading into the back of my truck and that trailer will likely have a lockable compartment. As the Bushmaster is an "assault rifle," it may cause the most trouble. I can bring a hunting rifle for camping in bear country instead of the Bushmaster, but the .223 is much more fun to shoot recreationally (of course a .223 won't do much to stop a 700 pound grizzly bear in the event that happens but that is a topic for another day).

Go directly to each respective states online regulations and look up the rules for legal transport in each state. While you are at it, look up their rules for engagement. copy & paste this info into a document on your hard drive. Arrange the info into some sort of order that makes sense to you, then print it all out. Study it. Take (not bring) the hard copy with you on your trip for reference.

"...on any given day there are bad people in the world who are able and willing to hurt you." --Lt. Col. Dave Grossman

In Colorado, it is perfectly legal to have a loaded handgun concealed in your vehicle. The exception to this law is the Peoples Republic of Denver, where it is not legal unless you have a valid CCW. In Colorado you may have a rifle in your vehicle, but it cannot be loaded in the chamber. A full magazine is no problem, just keep the chamber clear in your long gun.
MR

In Colorado, it is perfectly legal to have a loaded handgun concealed in your vehicle. The exception to this law is the Peoples Republic of Denver, where it is not legal unless you have a valid CCW. In Colorado you may have a rifle in your vehicle, but it cannot be loaded in the chamber. A full magazine is no problem, just keep the chamber clear in your long gun.
MR

You are allowed to have a concealed handgun in your car in Denver, without a permit.

18-12-105.6. Limitation on local ordinances regarding firearms in private vehicles.

(1) The general assembly hereby finds that:

(a) A person carrying a weapon in a private automobile or other private means of conveyance for hunting or for lawful protection of such person's or another's person or property, as permitted in sections 18-12-105 (2) (b) and 18-12-105.5 (3) (c), may tend to travel within a county, city and county, or municipal jurisdiction or in or through different county, city and county, and municipal jurisdictions, en route to the person's destination;

(b) Inconsistent laws exist in local jurisdictions with regard to the circumstances under which weapons may be carried in automobiles and other private means of conveyance;

(c) This inconsistency creates a confusing patchwork of laws that unfairly subjects a person who lawfully travels with a weapon to criminal penalties because he or she travels within a jurisdiction or into or through another jurisdiction;

(d) This inconsistency places citizens in the position of not knowing when they may be violating local laws while traveling within a jurisdiction or in, through, or between different jurisdictions, and therefore being unable to avoid committing a crime.

(2) (a) Based on the findings specified in subsection (1) of this section, the general assembly concludes that the carrying of weapons in private automobiles or other private means of conveyance for hunting or for lawful protection of a person's or another's person or property while traveling into, through, or within, a municipal, county, or city and county jurisdiction, regardless of the number of times the person stops in a jurisdiction, is a matter of statewide concern and is not an offense.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no municipality, county, or city and county shall have the authority to enact or enforce any ordinance or resolution that would restrict a person's ability to travel with a weapon in a private automobile or other private means of conveyance for hunting or for lawful protection of a person's or another's person or property while traveling into, through, or within, a municipal, county, or city and county jurisdiction, regardless of the number of times the person stops in a jurisdiction.

I think denver defines a "assault rifle" as rifle that has a magazine of 21 rounds or more and a shotgun that can hold six or more shells in the tubular magazine. I'm typing this on my phone so I can't look up the statute to be sure though.

I think denver defines a "assault rifle" as rifle that has a magazine of 21 rounds or more and a shotgun that can hold six or more shells in the tubular magazine. I'm typing this on my phone so I can't look up the statute to be sure though.

Only a lawyer would call a shotgun a rifle.

"...on any given day there are bad people in the world who are able and willing to hurt you." --Lt. Col. Dave Grossman

I dont want to pick on you but calling a semi-auto rifle such as an AR-15 an "assault rifle" is ignorant, liberal terminology.

Rifles like AR-15s are allowed in CO, although because of Denver's Home Rule law, you cannot posses one in Denver unless you are just traveling through. Otherwise you are good to go everywhere else.

I do not consider the AR-15 to be an assault rifle like the M-16 but in common usage among non-gun owners, they are seen as the same thing.

Call my Bushmaster .223 whatever you want, but I need to know whether I can travel with it legally or not which is why I stopped in here to see if I could find a shortcut to my answer. There have been some solid and helpful comments in addition to recommendations on how to proceed so thank's everyone for that. This is a sticky area and as is always the case with firearms matters, it is the honest person like me who is trying to uphold the law while the criminals do as they please.